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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26307931">Happily ever after</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/StrangeNoise/pseuds/StrangeNoise'>StrangeNoise</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Reddie Week 2020 [7]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>IT (1990), IT - Stephen King</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>1990s Richie and Eddie, Aged-Up Character(s), Because they deserve love too, Cats, Domestic Fluff, Established Relationship, Fluff, Gardens &amp; Gardening, Idiots in Love, Kissing, M/M</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-09-05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-09-05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 10:14:56</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,160</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26307931</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/StrangeNoise/pseuds/StrangeNoise</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>With their two encounters with IT far behind them, Richie and Eddie have settled into a peaceful, domestic life and neither of them would have it any other way...</p>
<p>7th and final oneshot for Reddie Week 2020. The prompt I chose was "27 years later"...</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Eddie Kaspbrak/Richie Tozier</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Reddie Week 2020 [7]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1902409</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>7</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>40</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Reddie Week 2020</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Happily ever after</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Richie woke from his nap to the sun shining on his belly and a gentle breeze floating in from the open patio door. He stretched and heard something crack somewhere in his back.<br/> <br/>"Christ, I've gotten old", he muttered to himself as if that was news to anyone. With a groan, he sat up and yawned. He put on his glasses and realized that Eddie had left his spot in the armchair where he had been reading as Richie fell asleep. The open door that led out into their backyard gave Richie a good idea of where the other man could have gone.<br/> <br/>With a final groan, he got to his feet and walked over to the door to look out into the backyard. Just behind the patio, Eddie was tending to some flowers. He was wearing his beloved straw hat even though the sun wasn't beating down as much now that summer was coming to an end, but Richie thought he looked adorable either way.<br/> <br/>He smiled as he stepped onto the patio and watched Eddie work away at one of their new raised flower beds. They had only bought them last year when it started becoming too much for Eddie to constantly bend down and tend to the flowers and vegetables on the ground. Richie had no idea how he had done it, but Eddie had managed to transfer the plants from one bed to the next and they were now blooming and growing just as beautifully as before. <br/> <br/>"Oh, it's so nice of you to join me but please don't get in my way, darling." <br/> <br/>Richie was just about to answer Eddie when he realized those words hadn't been directed at him but at their cat, Elliot, who had just climbed over the neighbor's fence and was now rubbing his head against Eddie's leg as he worked. With a groan, the man finally knelt down to run his hand through the cat's thick fur. <br/> <br/>Even at the distance, Richie saw the glint of the small golden band on Eddie's left ring finger and subconsciously, he touched the ring on his own hand. A soft smile spread on his face at the memory of their wedding two years ago. They had called each other husband long before that but when the law finally allowed them to get actually, truly married, they had jumped at the chance of it immediately. It had been a wonderful, summer day spent with their friends and families and when Richie had slid the ring onto Eddie's finger, they had both cried happy tears. <br/> <br/>"Now, where can I sign up to get my head scratched?", Richie called out across the lawn eventually. Eddie perked up and upon seeing him, his entire face lit up. It was moments like these, where Richie was most happy that after their last visit to Derry almost 30 years ago, he had gathered his courage and told Eddie what he meant to him. It hadn't been easy and there had been many bumps in the road, but it had brought him here, to a cozy house in the suburbs of Chicago, with a husband, who loved him more than anything. <br/> <br/>"Come over here, you big idiot", Eddie replied cheerfully and got back to his feet. He faltered a little and rubbed at his wrist, but his smile lost none of its excitement. Sometimes, Richie worried about his husband, now that they were getting older and the injuries, he had sustained during their last encounter with IT were causing him more and more trouble. But every time he brought it up, Eddie would assure him he was doing just fine, and Richie was inclined to believe him.<br/> <br/>Leisurely, he strolled across the neatly kept lawn until he stood in front of Eddie. Without hesitation, the shorter man raised his arms and ran his hands through Richie's hair - teasingly at first, ruffling the locks and then more gently. <br/>Richie often didn't like to think about how at almost 70, his hair had gone completely grey several years ago. He'd always liked its natural color and he knew Eddie did too. But in moments like this, he really didn't care. Eddie didn't seem to mind the new color of his hair and that was most important to Richie. Besides, he had loved it when Eddie's blond curls had slowly begun turning silver, and if he liked that, who was to say Eddie didn't like it on him?<br/> <br/> <br/>"Did you sleep well?", Eddie asked, hands still buried in Richie's hair.<br/> <br/>“As good as it gets when you're not around." <br/> <br/>"Aaaaaw you're getting so soft and romantic on me now that you're getting older", the other man cooed. His hands slid from Richie's hair down to his cheeks to cup his face in Eddie's hands. Then, the smaller man pulled him down into a soft kiss and, of course, Richie went willingly. <br/> <br/>They had kissed several thousand times at this point, surely, and yet Richie never got tired of it. Eddie's lips were just as soft as the first time they kissed, almost thirty years ago now. When they broke apart, Eddie had complained that Richie's mustache was tickling him which had led to several minutes of teasing from Richie and complaints from Eddie.<br/>Eventually, Eddie had promised he'd get used to it and it seemed he had. <br/> <br/>When their kiss finally ended - aided partially by Elliot sitting between them and meowing insistently - Eddie was smiling brightly up at Richie. At another complaint from their cat between them, he sighed.<br/> <br/>"How about you feed Elliot while I finish up out here and when we're both done, we can get the chairs out and play cards on the patio?", Eddie suggested.<br/> <br/>"Sounds lovely."<br/> <br/>Richie loved the idea of some calm hours outside with Eddie - even though playing cards with him was never really a calm affair. Eddie was incredibly ambitious when it came to games of all kinds and would complain endlessly whenever he lost. Later on, he would get embarrassed by his outbursts, but Richie thought they were adorable. <br/> <br/>Before he went back inside the house to feed the cat and get their playing cards and probably some snacks for them too, he bent down once more and placed a soft kiss on his husband's cheek. Eddie beamed up at him and Richie couldn't believe how lucky he had gotten to be with this man.<br/> <br/>As he walked back towards the house, Elliot by his side, Richie thought about how incredible it was that after all that had happened in their lives, he had ended up by Eddie's side. They had helped each other forget about the terrible events back in Derry and for the past decades, they had been nothing but happy with each other. It was a dream come true, and Richie's heart sped up with happiness as he thought of the many more days, he would get to spend with Eddie...</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Well this whole week was a little stressful but also a ton of fun! I wanna thank everyone for reading whether it was just one story or all of them. It means a lot!<br/>As always comments and kudos are much appreciated and you can come say hi on twitter @NoiseStrangest !</p></blockquote></div></div>
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